San Juan County Council member Howie Rosenfeld was elected chair of the Ferry Advisory Committee smack in the middle of summer schedule negotiations.
While he is pleased with the frequency and variety of the sailings, he is concerned about capacity.
“We have, at this point, the frequency that we all want,” Rosenfeld said. “The problem is capacity. We’ll see how it goes. This is an ongoing problem. It is just the beginning of three or more years of increasing traffic and the same capacities.”
Washington State Ferries just approved the summer schedule, which runs from June 20 to Sept. 25. It differs slightly from a version that was presented several weeks ago: the 1:35 sailing from Anacortes to Friday Harbor was changed to 2:45 p.m. Because of that, there is one less sailing to Lopez, so the additional cars will be shared on the 2:45 p.m. boat. In addition, the 5:05 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday to Friday Harbor will be shared with Lopez.
“That could be a big problem,” Rosenfeld said. “It’s first come, first serve (from Anacortes). But people wanted that later boat. ”
Rosenfeld is also concerned with the number of boats available to the San Juans.
“We have the same number of boats and number of capacities, even though the economy looks to be improving,” he said. “So it could cause overloads. We’re going to be stuck with that for the foreseeable future. There are no more boats – period. The only way we can deal with the increase in traffic is a reservation system, but even that is tricky. It won’t be until 2012, but nobody knows how long it will take to implement. We’re lobbying to start it very slowly, maybe just on Sundays.”
Rosenfeld says the Washington State Transportation Commission is also considering charging fares based on size: the smaller car, the lower the ticket price. If more drivers use smaller vehicles, then more can fit on the boats.
Washington State Ferries to hold community meetings
The Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division invites the public to a series of meetings in ferry-served communities throughout May.
WSF will provide information, answer questions and hear public comments on a variety of issues related to the ferry system, including new vessel construction progress, vehicle reservations, the marketing program, efforts to improve on-time performance, the fare change process and emergency service planning.
“I am looking forward to meeting with our customers and community members to discuss the direction received this legislative session and the priorities for the ferry system moving forward,” said David Moseley, Assistant Secretary for WSF.
The community meeting schedule is as follows.
Thursday, May 6, 11:35 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., San Juan Islands inter-island ferry: Depart Friday Harbor 11:35 a.m., depart Orcas 12:25 p.m., depart Shaw 12:40 p.m., depart Lopez 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., to discuss Anacortes/Sidney, B.C./San Juan Islands st the Anacortes Chamber, 22nd & O streets, Anacortes. RSVP to 360-293-7911. Lunch is optional at $15.
To download the meeting agenda, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/CommuterUpdates/pub_meetings.
The peak season began Saturday, May 1 with an additional 25 percent surcharge applied to full fare vehicle/driver tickets. The peak season surcharge does not affect passenger fares or frequent user multi-ride fares, except on the Anacortes/San Juan routes.
